ZIM READY FOR PAKISTAN
ZIMBABWE Women’s Cricket coordinator Caroline Nyamande says they wish to have more matches with strong teams like Pakistan.
Nyamande said this following the approval by the Sports and Recreation Commission to host Pakistan’s women team in three ODI and two Twenty20 matches in February.
The ODI will open the tour and is scheduled for February 11 with the second game on the 13th and the final ODI match on the 15th.
Then followed by the two T20 games which have been set for February 18 and 20.
“Playing with seven ranked team like Pakistan on a practice basis is a great stride for Zimbabwe,” Nyamande told H-Metro.
“These games will show us exactly where we are as Zim team and also guide us on what we then need to do there after.
“It’s going to be really great games, we are confident of that but mostly it’s this exposure and more game time with strong teams that we so thrive for.
“We can’t wait,” she said.
The Zimbabwe senior women’s team was last involved in international competition in May 2019.
The upcoming tour however, comes at a time when both teams are preparing for the 2021 ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifiers.
Players who will represent Zimbabwe during the tour will be selected at the regional games which will be played across all formats in a bio-secure bubble environment.
“Our girls will assemble here in Harare for a series of games.
“From those domestic games played end of last year, we selected the best 30 players who will come in to play as two teams — Northern vs Southern — on a strength for strength basis.
“We will use these games to pick the final squad for Pakistan,” she said before adding that, “So they will play two One day games and two T20 games starting with the first One day game on Saturday. Then after the games, the final squad continues with the training,” she said.
Asked on what they will be prioritising during their training sessions, Nyamande said:
“In our preparations, our aim is simply to polish up and continue with the momentum we had achieved as we played our domestic league, give good competition and win some of the games.”